We are often asked about effective campaign execution on social platforms, how to measure and track these campaigns and, of course, everyone wants to determine how “well” their campaign has done. We decided to take the Coca-Cola SA #EnjoyTheFeeling campaign and share some insights with you…

The first and most important part of putting a campaign together is:
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE? (aka what are your objectives)? People often ask me what a social intelligence report will include and, honestly, it is all about what you want to achieve. With so much data to sift through you need to know why you are doing something so that you can benchmark. The other great thing about digital? If you are not hitting your objectives you can change things up.. IN REAL TIME!

#EnjoyTheFeeling

This campaign ran from 01 March to 19 March 2016.

Coca-Cola utilised radio platforms 947 and KFM. The campaign was a part of the Top40SA.

In order to participate, listeners had to share a photo of themselves drinking a Coca-Cola on either Instagram, Twitter or on either 947 or KFM’s Facebook pages.

Participants also had to tweet their entry using the hashtags #EnjoyTheFeeling and #CokeTop40SA.

When it comes to tracking a campaign and reporting accurately on it, you need to know what the entry mechanism is and you really have to be very clever about how you phrase the keywords to make sure you get all the correct data. Below is the difference between people who only used the #EnjoyTheFeeling hashtag compared to people who used the correct hashtags as stipulated in the competition rules; #EnjoyTheFeeling and #CokeTop40SA.

That is over double the volumes for tracking the correct keywords.

Pulling activity from only two platforms as opposed to three with the correct method.

Despite the #EnjoyTheFeeling campaign running on multiple social media platforms, the requirement of entering on Twitter incentivised participants to continue to use Twitter.

Barrier to enter.. Expecting audiences to use two hashtags for the #EnjoyTheFeeling campaign created a problem whereby some people only used the #EnjoyTheFeeling hashtag.

A ‘closed’ social media campaign creates limitations where reach is concerned as it excludes a significantly large audience that may otherwise be involved.

The #EnjoyTheFeeling campaign insisted that entrants tag either @947Joburg or @KFMza on Instagram, tag @947 or @KFMza on Twitter or comment on a Coca-Cola Top40SA post on either 947 or KFM’s Facebook walls. As such, all posts were linked to the radio stations’ social media pages – an imperative aspect in running the competition.

Know what you want to achieve; be able to track it properly and utilise your public channels as much as possible when it comes to audience engagement.

Please note that all the data is taken from open and public platforms.

I believe every data-set has at least one story to tell, usually there are many. Big data analytics is the process of examining data to hear that story. Sometimes the simple frequency tables or cross-tabs are good enough to find the story. Other times one has to run slightly more complex processes like regression, time series analysis etc.

The story that a data-set tells is often referred to as an insight. Insights are used to achieve various goals e.g. increase revenue, reduce costs, etc. Depending on the aim, data should be collected for a long enough time period. At least a couple years data is necessary so that the same month could be compared to each other and one year can be compared to the next. The more the data, the better and more robust insights are achieved.

We use big data analytics to solve a variety for problems including (but not limited to):

Propensity modelling – Probability of a customer (or potential customer) to take up a certain product.

Fraud identification.

Determining which factors have the highest effect on revenue, cost or profit.

Capacity planning.

Social media has opened new doors for analytics. There is a lot of data out there and thus, lots of insights can be pulled. Banks have even started using social media for customers’ credit ratings. Our tool “Tracx” allows us to determine the sentiment about a brand. The internal data can be used to find the company’s spend on product (e.g. innovation, R&D, packaging), marketing (channels), delivery, etc. External data (from Tracx) can then be used to see the effect on brand sentiment (image) if there is a change in any of the internal variables.

Once we have found the solution to the problem we need to implement it. Analytics without implementation is wasted effort. One of my mentors always said “don’t do analytics for the sake of analytics”. We ensure that our clients implement the solution the way it is supposed to.

The final piece in the cycle is monitoring to ensure that the solution is up to date over time.

I speak to many people in the digital space ranging from agencies to corporates, to full solution social media teams, community managers, content creators, website analysts, digital experts, …need I go on? I speak to a lot of people from all walks of the digital and social sphere. I am not bragging so much as trying to bring home that I understand the “technicalities” surrounding the metrics and benchmarking concerns.

Digital is still changing and it is still growing and it is still shaping our daily lives more and more. When marketers ask me if all brands should have a social presence I answer them with “remember those people who once-upon-a-time asked if they really needed a website for their business?” That is my tongue-in-cheek way of saying YES, however, the social presence you have will be determined by several factors. But, I am not discussing social strategy here.

First of all, I think we need to distinguish between creatives and analysts. I find it cumbersome to have to explain things to creatives. When I see creatives trying to work with data and obtain ACTIONABLE and STRATEGIC insights I think it hurts me as much as it would hurt them watching me attempt anything creative. We need to work towards our strengths and respect the space that each “expert” works in.

Metrics; why are they important and how do we make sure they are reliable? Metrics are important because they allow us to measure something. I’ll save the discussion about defining and selecting the correct metrics for another time.

If the same methodology is used each time the metric is calculated, then over time a benchmark can be created. This benchmark can then be used to compare with future values.

Metrics cannot stand alone and need to be:

Aligned with the business

Actionable

Consistent

Timeously defined (ideally before the action is taken)

Time-trackable

Used to benchmark against competitors

So, when it comes to metrics the emphasis should be based on selecting metrics that pertain to the business needs as well as metrics that can be measured and benchmarked over time. It should not matter if the definition varies from time to time and that a metric with the same name with various methodologies are being used as long as you STICK TO THE SAME METHODOLOGY!

In all honesty, we would just be happy if people started using metrics for their social media platforms and sticking to them so that brands can benchmark accordingly.

It is 2015, no matter how old or experienced one is, the majority of people are starting to make and modify opinions through social media. Many companies – specifically the smaller ones – are often not aware of what is being said about them in the social spheres. This can be the result of the lack of tools and processes or purely the result of complacency. Retweets, follows and likes ARE NOT ENOUGH!

The three main uses of social media are:

Market research

Finding consumers and creating leads

Engaging customers and building brand loyalty, including customer service.

Using social media is a tried and tested way of helping your brand build relationships with current and future consumers. Through social media, your brand can interact both directly and indirectly with consumers – this can be done through generating interesting and useful content. A brand can even position themselves as a trusted source of information in their specific field.

Social media is so prevalent in today’s society, thus negative media has a much further reach and impact than before. When it comes to negative social media – be it either direct or indirect – it is vital that these issues are dealt with in a timely and professional manner. Products and services that have negative reviews are likely to suffer brand damage or brand abuse as a result. People want to be heard if they feel they have been mistreated.

It is important to ensure every piece of content shared by a brand should remain constant and support one’s brand image – the ‘personality’ or ‘climate’ of a business should not change. This consistency will lead to trust, name recognition, and, more importantly, brand identity.

In order to create consistent brand identity, one needs to ensure that every person within the company, as well as all media that anyone on the outside is exposed to, runs parallel to the values and benefits that a brand offers. Ensure that the internal and external perceptions of the brand are in accordance with one another. Focus on competitive advantages and how your brand is better than competitors.

Focus on the correct media to suit your needs. Some media (specifically advertisements) focus on building an image and others (such as social media) are designed to gain responses and interactions. Ensure that responses are monitored and answered if need be. There is nothing worse than a brand that does not serve its customers. In a world where the main differences between brands are their user-friendliness and customer interactions – ensure that the people who purchase and utilize your product or service come first! It is vital that all points of contact with a customer carry a consistent message and response.

Having a social media strategy can go a long way in terms of ensuring that all advertisement is implemented across the board – there should be no boundaries between print and electronic media. Use the one to support the other. If social media is not used correctly, it can run the risk of alienating or confusing potential clients.

In order to ensure that your social media presence is strengthening your customer relationship management through retaining and strengthening your customer base as well as controlling your public relations; one needs to ensure that the correct tool(s) is/are being used.

Monitoring the impact of your social media should not be a huge job. One needs to create a dashboard that aggregates various sources and gives an accurate overview of the brand’s performance in real time. This can help with finding and authenticating leading indicators in terms of sales increase or decline as well as the impact of strategies over time.

Create meaningful goals and benchmarks, track competitors and their marketing campaigns. Build predictive models and ensure that everything is consistent! Certain metrics need to be researched in terms of validity; the term ‘engagement’ needs to be clearly defined. Reading and sharing or commenting are very different. A post may have 1000 engagements but only 50 people have actively interacted with it.

There are various tools that can be built to a brand’s specifications, Tracx has a very user-friendly interface that does all of the hard work and gives the user real time direct messaging as well as indirect messaging feeds that may be replied to directly.

At the end of the day, one needs to ensure that a brand is meeting (hopefully exceeding) consumer expectations, gaining competitive advantage and monitoring business influencers. This can all be done at a relatively low cost through social media.

Ensure that your brand is not just speaking to consumers but listening as well.

Watching rugby for the first time, especially The World Cup 2015, the sport can appear to be a chaotic collection of indecipherable movements and hectic collisions. In reality, rugby is highly technical and organized with specific rules governing all aspects of play. To get you up to speed on all the rugby terms and laws, here are some guidelines to rugby to familiarize yourself with before watching a match.

Scrum: This term refers to the restarting play after a minor infringement. It involves up to eight players from each team, known as the pack or forward pack, binding together in three rows and interlocking with the free opposing team’s forwards. At this point the ball is fed into the gap between the two forward packs and they both compete for the ball to win possession. Teams can be penalised for intentionally causing the scrum to collapse, and for not putting the ball into the scrum correctly.

Lineout: Looks somewhat like a jump-ball in basketball, with both teams lining up opposite each other, but one team then throws the ball down the middle of the tunnel. Line-outs occur when the ball, or a player carrying it, has gone out of bounds and thus restarts play.

Maul: Occurs when a player carrying the ball is held by one or more opponents, and one or more of the ball-carrier’s teammates bind on the ball-carrier. All the players involved are on their feet and moving toward a goal line. Open play has ended.

Ruck: Between one or more players from each team, who are on their feet and in contact, close around the ball on the ground. Once a ruck has been formed, players are not allowed to use their hands to get the ball, only their feet.

Rugby Positions and Scoring

The following will indicate who all the players are, explain what the referee is generally looking for during the rugby match, and clarify the basic skills required to be successful on the field.

Positions explained:

A rugby team has 15 positions. Each one wears a specific number and has individual responsibilities:

1 and 3 are the props

2 is the hooker

4 and 5 are the locks

6 and 7 are the flankers

8 is, conveniently enough, the eighth man

This group is collectively referred to as the pack or the forwards. This group’s main goal is to win possession of the ball. These players are usually the heavyweights of the team, using their bulk and strength to try to overpower their opponents.

A rugby team has another group as well — the backs or back line:

9 is the scrumhalf

10 is the fly half

11 and 14 are the wings

12 and 13 are the inside and outside centers

15 is the fullback

How scoring works:

The aim of rugby is to score more points than the opposition. This is done in four different ways:

Try: The most valuable play is to score a try, which means touching the ball down in the opponent’s in-goal area or on their goal line. Doing so is worth five points and earns that team the right to attempt a conversion kick.

Conversion kick: This kick is worth an additional two points. The conversion kick is taken from a spot in line with where the ball was originally grounded, so scoring as close to the posts as possible is best.

Penalty kick: Penalties for various infractions can be used to take a kick at goal, which is worth three points.

Dropped goal: A dropped goal, which occurs when the player drops the ball on the ground and then kicks it just as it bounces, is worth three points if it goes through the rugby posts.

Some rules of rugby

Offside: A player is offside in general play if he is in front of a team mate who is carrying the ball, or in front of a team mate who last played the ball.

Forward pass: An illegal pass to a player who is ahead of the ball; a player is not allowed to pass the ball forward to a team mate.

Knock on: If a player drops the ball ‘forward’ – that is, towards the opposing team’s try-line – or loses possession of the ball and it goes forward, a scrum is set, with the non-offending team getting the scrum feed.

Tracx has pulled social media activity to the build up to the rugby world cup over the last thirty days from August 20 to September 18 2105.

There have been a total of 57 649 posts relating to the Rugby World Cup, with over 629 681 interactions.

23 176 posts were interacted with by generating conversations thus creating an engagement rate of 40%.

The Rugby World Cup has been mentioned 60 305 times in the last 30 days.

There have been over 370 000 unique people reached with conversations having a density of 26.0 people per conversation.

When it comes to the audience engaged in posting online material, most of the conversations generated were by males, with 25-34 year olds being the largest group contributing to the conversations online.

There have been certain words and key phrases that have been identified in conversations surrounding the rugby world cup. Tracx is able to monitor and record real time fluctuations in topics, sentiment and general discussion. Below we have a word cloud of the topics relating to the rugby world cup.

Below we have tracked what social platforms the conversations are happening on and the sentiment towards these conversations. The activity is mainly on Facebook and Twitter with an 80.3% neutral sentiment.

One of the things that we love about social media, is that we can get a realtime feel of what is going on and opinions and sentiments thereof without having to go through a lengthy research process.

Tracx is a platform on which one may manage and monitor their social presence.

Using Homo Naledi as an example; the news of the “new species of human ancestor discovered in South Africa” (McKenzie & Wende, 2015) by the University of Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society, the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of South Africa at the Cradle of Humankind yesterday (Thursday, 10th September 2015).

By using Tracx, one can determine the amount of activity surrounding a certain topic online. This topic may then be subdivided into specific categories (such as promotions). In the case of Homo Naledi, Digital Republic has set Tracx to monitor all social media activity in South Africa, as the news of the discovery began ‘trending’.

Deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is an Influencer in the events as he kissed the reconstruction of Homo Naledi’s face and stated, “Today we unearth our past. In unearthing our past we also unearth knowledge, about our present. We get to understand our present even better. Today we also get to get a glimpse of our future.”

Tracx gives you an overview of the activity over a specific period of time. This overview may be modified to your specific needs.

As you can see from the above overview, both the Reach of the activity (the total number of individuals who have directly interacted with the activity) and the number of Interactions (re-tweets, likes, comments etc.) are uncharacteristically high for an 18 hour period.

A post with at least one interaction is considered a Conversation. And the Engagement Rate refers to the percentage of posts that convert into conversations within in a certain time frame.

Tracx is able to monitor the Audience Demographics, and the Activity Breakdown or the total number of posts and interactions by social platforms.

We can see that there are more males have interacted online content related to Homo Naledi and that most of the activity is taking place on Twitter.

Tracx also depicts the Conversation Drivers around the specific or chosen topics. Here you will be able to see, in real time, fluctuations in the most discussed words by the audience.

Through machine learning, Tracx is able to identify positive, negative, neutral and mixed Sentiments within the activity/topic– the general perception or emotion toward a particular brand, product or topic of interest as found in mentions across the social media world.

In the #HomoNaledi campaign, the neutral sentiments are based on questions and news segments. The negative comments are focussed mainly on the evolution/religion aspects and the positive comments show how people are excited about the discovery, its impact on both SA’s economy and possible future insights.

These are heat maps of South Africa yesterday and this morning. Showing the increase in activity from yesterday at 15h00 and 9h00 this morning.

15h00 Thursday 10 September – Social Media: #HomoNaledi

9h00 Friday 11 September – Social Media: #HomoNaledi

At Digital Republic, we like to stay up to date with the latest trends, campaigns and discoveries.

We are excited to welcome Homo Naledi and to see what the future holds!

In the past few weeks I have been asked the above question many times. After a decade of growing and establishing one of the most highly regarded market research firms in the country, it was time for a change.

Spending your time talking to consumers and businesses and looking to decipher market trends, one cannot but help to notice changes in the industry and the business environment. There is a clear shift to using more data to make decisions and to move from batch data to real-time data.

Data rich. Insight poor.

We believe that there is a massive opportunity where the following three specialisations intersect, namely: